"This is the crack-cocaine of the financial institutions," said Rep. Dan Stewart, a Democrat from Columbus.

Lawmakers thought they reigned in payday lenders in 2008 when they capped interest rates on the short-term, low-dollar loans. But the lenders found other ways to make money.

Members of both parties agreed gaps in the law needed to be filled, but it took the House more than a year to do so. The bill faced opposition from Republicans who worried it would cost Ohio jobs and from some urban Democrats who said their constituents would have nowhere to get credit if payday lenders went out of business.

Rep. Sandra Williams, of Cleveland, was one of those Democrats. But on Wednesday, Williams voted in favor of the bill despite giving a floor speech moments earlier promoting the need for payday lenders in her community.

"Contrary to popular belief, everybody does not hate payday lending," Williams said before the House voted. "Do you dry up credit for everybody? Or do you vote your conscience and not be afraid of what people are going to say about you in public?"

Williams was the last member to vote on the bill, according to the House clerk's office. She declined to comment on her vote after Wednesday's session. The bill passed 61-37.

If the Senate passes the bill and it becomes law, lenders would be barred from charging fees to cash the checks they issue. The bill also prohibits lenders from charging origination fees more than once every 90 days for loans of $1,000 or less, and it prohibits them from skirting fee limits by acting as credit service organizations.

Although supporters of the bill celebrated its passage as a victory for consumer protection, it is unclear whether the Senate is interested in addressing the issue before the legislature begins its summer break next month. Earlier this week, Senate President Bill Harris acknowledged the loopholes in which payday lenders are operating, but he did not commit to a timetable for a Senate vote.